Statements about Global Warming
02/23/2007
"Like most environmental problems, the effects of global warming will be disproportionately felt by those least responsible for the problem: the poor and future generations. We have an obligation to take the lead, consistent with our disproportionate contribution. With only 5% of the world's population we produce 20% of the emissions. "We can increase CAFE standards from 24 miles per gallon to 40 miles per gallon for starters. We can derive our ethanol from renewable resources, not those that exacerbate world hunger by driving up food prices and exact environmental damage of their own. We can reduce our dependence on hydrocarbon fuels, unsafe nuclear power, and our dependence on foreign energy sources. The best path forward is a combination of multiple renewable energy technologies that when combined holistically can achieve these goals." "Rep. Kucinich: President Needs a Reality Check." US Fed News.
05/18/2006
"The science is clear. This is not a problem of the future. It is happening now. The United Nations has declared that at least 5 million cases of illness and more than 150,000 deaths every year are attributed to global warming. The 2003 European heat wave killed over 20,000 people. The 10 hottest years on record have occurred in the last 15 years. Two consecutive record-breaking hurricane seasons. The problem will not fix itself… Just how bad does it have to get?" Kucinich statement on the House floor during debate on H. R. 5386, Department of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2007.
04/25/2006
"We've been warned that rising temperatures will force infectious diseases to move north or upwards in elevation...We have been warned that droughts will intensify and lengthen, straining already strained water supplies and bringing crop failures...These warnings come from the most respected, most credible, most well-studied scientists this world has to offer. Turns out, they were right. The ten hottest years on record have occurred in the last fifteen years. We have had two consecutive record-breaking hurricane seasons, and all signs point to another one this year. The polar ice cap is melting. Greenland's ice is melting. Permafrost in Alaska is thawing, causing homes to crumble. Residents of low-lying island nations like Tuvalu have applied for entry into other countries as climate refugees ... and been denied. West Nile virus from Africa has taken a toehold in the US. The European heat wave of 2003 killed over 15,000 people. Carbon dioxide concentrations in the atmosphere are at levels scientists say have not occurred in 400,000 years. These effects are directly in line with the warnings we have received from the scientific community. Even though it is difficult to attribute all of these effects—and several I haven't even mentioned—directly to climate change, some have been able to." Kucinich statement on the House floor during debate on H.R. 5441, the Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2007.
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by Emma